People with depression feel better after listening to sad music, research suggests

Once more, with feeling.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/4/18528349/depression-music-sad-emotion-psychology-health?source=Snapzu

Animated, interactive digital books may help kids learn better

Digital books may have a few advantages over ordinary ones when it comes to kids remembering their contents, according to a new study. Animations, especially ones keyed to verbal interactions, can significantly improve recall of story details — but they have to be done right.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/27/animated-interactive-digital-books-may-help-kids-learn-better/?source=Snapzu

Neil Innes, 'Monty Python' collaborator, dead at 75

Neil Innes, a writer, musician and "Monty Python" collaborator, has died at the age of 75.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/30/entertainment/neil-innes-dead-scli-intl/index.html?source=Snapzu

China Blocks American Books as Trade War Simmers

Novels and nonfiction titles alike have been delayed without explanation, cutting off U.S. authors and publishers from a vast market.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/business/us-china-books-trade-war.html?source=Snapzu

The 30-year love affair between Germany and David Hasselhoff started at the Berlin Wall

David Hasselhoff has been famous for decades, ever since he beefcaked through four seasons with a talking Trans Am on “Knight Rider” and served as the bare-chested voice of reason on “Baywatch” alongside a slew of swimsuited Playmates posing as lifeguards. Those shows were so popular in the 1980s and ’90s, when weekly audience estimates reached 1.1 billion worldwide, that Hasselhoff still holds the Guinness World Record for “most watched man on television.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/12/17/year-love-affair-between-germany-david-hasselhoff-started-berlin-wall/?source=Snapzu

Analysts Say Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ Was The Third Biggest Streaming Original In Its US Debut

It can be extremely hard to measure the success of streaming shows in this day and age with so much information kept under wraps by these black box companies who only share data when it suits them. So we have to rely on other metrics, like the fact that The Witcher is one of the highest rated Netflix originals on IMDB, alongside other hits that have gone on to last multiple seasons. Or from analysis by external companies.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2019/12/28/analysts-say-the-witcher-was-the-third-biggest-streaming-original-in-its-us-debut/#ad5516b35b10?source=Snapzu

Six-man football is a thing ... and may find a place in California

Six-man football was developed for small-town schools. But with football participation falling nationwide, the sport could be on its way to California.
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/story/2019-12-27/6-man-football?source=Snapzu

A new hope for "Star Wars" in "The Mandalorian" season finale

Once upon a time there was a lone gunslinger known only as The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal). When first we meet him — that would be in early November, when “The Mandalorian” debuted on day Disney+ launched — he is a member of a bounty hunter guild at a time when jobs are scarce and pay is low. In order to survive he takes a job from a shady client who happens to be an ex-Empire official, played by iconic German filmmaker Werner Herzog.
Read more: https://www.salon.com/2019/12/27/a-new-hope-the-mandalorian-finds-redemption-for-star-wars-in-its-season-finale/?source=Snapzu

‘The Witcher’ Is Officially Netflix’s Highest Rated Original Series On IMDB

I have to admit it – I didn’t see this coming. While I did think The Witcher looked considerably good from early trailers, I didn’t imagine we would end up seeing fans rally around it truly like this. While Netflix’s The Witcher series is based on the original books, it has also been embraced by legions of fans of the video games. The result?
Read more: https://learnworthy.net/the-witcher-is-officially-netflixs-highest-rated-original-series-on-imdb/?source=Snapzu

The World's First Working Protosaber is Here

As a child I always dreamed of owning a lightsaber after watching Star Wars. My softball bat, a tube of cardboard, anything I could really get my hands on. I was a brave Jedi sworn to defend the galaxy from the evil empire! My huge front lawn was my area to defend. But even as an adult I still want a lightsaber. They still look amazing and I would give an arm and a leg to have one (get it?).
Read more: https://nerdbot.com/2019/12/21/worlds-first-protosaber-is-here/?source=Snapzu

Indie booksellers create community to survive the age of Amazon

The holiday season is the busiest time of year for many retailers, including the country's 2,500 independent bookstores, which, despite Amazon's growing dominance, are flourishing.
Read more: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/12/27/indie-booksellers-create-community-to-survive-the-age-of-amazon?source=Snapzu

French publishing boss claims she was groomed at age 14 by acclaimed author

Vanessa Springora describes relationship with Gabriel Matzneff, then 50, in new book
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/french-publishing-boss-claims-she-was-groomed-at-age-14-by-acclaimed-author?source=Snapzu

Chimpanzees Sway, Clap Their Hands When They Hear Music

While the chimps didn't match the beat, it's an indication they respond instinctively to sounds.
Read more: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/chimpanzees-sway-clap-their-hands-when-they-hear-music?source=Snapzu

Don Imus, Legendary 'Imus in the Morning' Host, Dies at 79

The controversial radio personality passed away on Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas.
Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/don-imus-legendary-imus-morning-host-dies-at-79-1265052?source=Snapzu

Inside the New Golden Age of Adult Animation

Netflix, Amazon and others are investing millions in animation for grown-ups, transforming a the genre into one of the most vital art forms of the 21st century
Read more: https://time.com/5752400/adult-animation-golden-age/?source=Snapzu

Ryan Reynolds Confirms Deadpool 3 at Marvel Studios

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to every Deadpool fan out there, because franchise star and producer Ryan Reynolds certainly has some good news for you. There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the release of a third Deadpool movie following Disney's purchase of Fox, the company responsible for the first two films.
Read more: https://comicbook.com/marvel/2019/12/27/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-3-marvel-studios/?source=Snapzu

TV Shows That Ended in 2019

The Grim Reaper thinned the #PeakTV herd this year in triple-digit fashion. Between network, cable and streaming, more than a hundred shows aired their final episode in 2019, either due to cancellation or a pre-determined “final season.” (By comparison, 2018 death toll was 102.) The small-screen casualties ranged from long-running hits (Game of Thrones, Elementary) to critically adored gems (Fleabag, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) to… shows we barely knew existed, frankly (what’s Wayne again?).
Read more: https://tvline.com/gallery/tv-shows-ending-2019-list-cancelled/shows-ending-2019-crashing/?source=Snapzu

Mr. Robot wraps up with a near-perfect final season about our need to connect

The hacker drama used to be chilly. It went for sentiment in its last stretch of episodes — and succeeded wildly.
Read more: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/24/21032144/mr-robot-series-finale-recap-hello-elliot-whoami-season-4-episode-13-spoilers?source=Snapzu

The End of Owning Music: How CDs and Downloads Died

If you visited Austin’s Waterloo Records recently, you might have noticed a construction project that was unthinkable not so long ago: The 36-year-old Austin music staple was replacing 24 feet of CD racks with space for more vinyl. “After 30 years of CDs, a lot of people are moving on from that format,” says Waterloo owner John Kunz. “Whether they’re going back to vinyl, or streaming, people are selling off those CDs.”
Read more: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-end-of-owning-music-how-cds-and-downloads-died?source=Snapzu

Comcast And Starz Reach Carriage Deal; Lionsgate, NBCUniversal Swap Streaming Fare – Update

UPDATED with stock movement, Wall Street reaction. Resolving a closely tracked negotiation, Comcast and Starz said Monday they have entered into a long-term carriage deal, more than a week before t…
Read more: https://deadline.com/2019/12/comcast-and-starz-reach-carriage-deal-with-lionsgate-nbcuniversal-content-pact-1202816318/?source=Snapzu

Aschoff, ESPN college football reporter, dies at 34

Edward Aschoff, who started covering college football for ESPN as an SEC reporter in 2011 and began a more expanded national role in 2017, died Tuesday at age 34.
Read more: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/28367265/edward-aschoff-espn-college-football-reporter-dies-age-34?platform=amp?source=Snapzu

The 2010s were supposed to bring the ebook revolution. It never quite came.

Publishing spent the 2010s fighting tooth and nail against ebooks. There were unintended consequences.
Read more: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/23/20991659/ebook-amazon-kindle-ereader-department-of-justice-publishing-lawsuit-apple-ipad?source=Snapzu

'Mr. Robot' Series Finale: Goodbye, Friend

The groundbreaking hacktivist drama bids farewell by telling a much smaller story than when it started—and that’s exactly what it needed to do
Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/mr-robot-series-finale-review-sepinwall-930563/?source=Snapzu

Radiohead Puts Every Official Album on YouTube, Making Them All Free to Stream

There are those who say that Radiohead was the last of the great rock bands before the internet crushed the record industry and popular music fragmented into a proliferation of microgenres.
Read more: http://www.openculture.com/2019/12/radiohead-puts-every-official-album-on-youtube.html?source=Snapzu

Warp speeds in 'Star Trek' are achingly slow, and a simple animation by a former NASA scientist proves it

The animation shows how long it takes the starship Enterprise in "Star Trek" to reach Pluto at warp factors that break the known laws of physics.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/star-trek-warp-light-speed-reality-travel-nasa-animation-2019-1?source=Snapzu

Robert De Niro: Trump deserves a bag of excrement in the face

Hollywood legend and staunch 'Never Trumper' Robert De Niro has called for the president to be hit in the face with a bag of feculence. De Niro's remarks, made in a interview with Michael Moore on the liberal film director's podcast, are just the latest explosive insult the actor has hurled at President Donald Trump.
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7815405/Robert-Niro-says-hed-like-Donald-Trump-hit-face-bag-excrement.html?source=Snapzu

'In 24 hours, people gave us £40,000': how readers rescued a small press

If a novelist had submitted a story to my publishing company about someone losing £40,000 one day and then regaining it the next, thanks to the beautiful kindness of thousands of strangers, I would have thought that it sounded unlikely. If that novelist had also set the story just before Christmas, included scenes where one of the protagonists starts weeping during a phone call and brought events to a neat conclusion almost exactly 24 hours after they started...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2019/dec/19/in-24-hours-people-gave-us-40000-how-readers-rescued-a-small-press?source=Snapzu

Netflix is Ad Free, but It Isn’t Brand Free

Tide Pod shout-outs onscreen. Flirtatious exchanges with companies on Twitter. Netflix may not run ads, but it has become a coveted marketing platform.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/media/netflix-commercials.html?source=Snapzu

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine sentenced to 2 years in prison for racketeering after flipping on gang associates

Tekashi 6ix9ine, the flamboyant Brooklyn rapper who carried out a series of violent crimes before informing on his former gang associates, was sentenced to 2 years in prison on Wednesday.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/us/tekashi-6ix9ine-guilty-sentencing/index.html?source=Snapzu

First ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ Images Are Most Excellent

Orion Pictures has released the first images from Bill and Ted 3, Bill & Ted Face the Music, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.
Read more: https://collider.com/bill-and-ted-3-images-keanu-reeves-alex-winter/?source=Snapzu

Comcast Will Start Selling Smaller $10 TV Packages to Fight Cord Cutting in 2020

Sick of huge TV packages from Comcast? It seems that they have heard you and will soon be offering packages starting at $10 a month. These new packages are part of what Comcast calls their Comcast Vision 2020. This is an effort to draw cord cutters back to cable TV. Cord Cutters News has confirmed …
Read more: https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/comcast-will-start-selling-smaller-10-tv-packages-to-fight-cord-cutting-in-2020/?source=Snapzu

‘Daybreak’ Canceled By Netflix After One Season

Daybreak, Netflix’s post-apocalyptic dramedy starring Matthew Broderick, will not be getting a second season. Series co-creator/executive producer Aron Eli Coleite revealed the news of the series’ cancelation on Twitter. It comes a month and a half after Daybreak launched on Oct. 24.
Read more: https://deadline.com/2019/12/daybreak-canceled-netflix-one-season-matthew-broderick-1202811225/?source=Snapzu

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Renewed For Season 2 Ahead Of Series Debut Next Month

In what will bring great joy to fans of the once Next Generation captain and surprise to almost no one in Hollywood, Star Trek: Picard has been given the green light for a second season before its series debut next month.
Read more: https://deadline.com/2019/12/star-trek-picard-renewed-for-season-2-ahead-of-series-debut-next-month-1202809964/?source=Snapzu

Hallmark Channel reverses course and apologies for caving to anti-LGBTQ group

The Hallmark Channel reversed course after a boycott resulted from the network caving to an anti-LGBTQ group. On Saturday, #BoycottHallmark trended on Twitter nationwide after the network refused to show ads featuring two women kissing after being married. On Sunday, the Hallmark Channel reversed their decision and apologized.
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2019/12/hallmark-channel-reverses-course-and-apologies-for-caving-to-anti-lgbtq-group/?source=Snapzu

The Worst Song of 2019

(plus Year End Awards!)
Read more: https://snapzu.com/mtnrg/the-worst-song-of-2019?source=Snapzu

Burger Fan Jack Black Says 'It's Time For Everyone To Consider Going Vegan'

Jack Black says everyone should consider going vegan - although he admitted he has not yet made the switch himself. The comedian made the comments during a recent WIRED Autocomplete Interview, where celebrities answer the internet's most searched questions about themselves.
Read more: https://www.plantbasednews.org/news/jack-black-everyone-should-consider-going-vegan?source=Snapzu

From ‘Boy Meets World’ to Porn’s A-List

The former soap opera star and “Boy Meets World” actress opens up to Marlow Stern about her decision to walk away from playing “Disney moms” and enter the world of porn.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maitland-wards-journey-from-boy-meets-world-to-porns-a-list?source=Snapzu

Watchmen Is Finally Being Called a Hit

Good day, and welcome to The Monitor, WIRED’s roundup of the biggest news in pop culture. What’s happening in the world right now? To start, people are showing up in big numbers to watch Watchmen. Also, Taylor Swift is (maybe) going to the Sundance Film Festival, and there’s a new Mulan trailer. Let’s dive in.
Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/watchmen-viewership-numbers/?source=Snapzu

Brian Taylor to Adapt Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea’s The Illuminatus! Trilogy as a TV Show

Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's crazed, over-the-top, post-modern sci-fi satire, the Illuminatus! trilogy is slated to become a TV series.
Read more: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/12/11/brian-taylor-robert-anton-wilson-robert-shea-the-illuminatus-trilogy-tv-show/?source=Snapzu

Marianne & Leonard: a new film tells us little about the woman fixed in the role of musician's muse

Nick Broomfield's latest documentary explores the romance between Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen. But the film fails to confront the harder truths of the license taken by, and conceded to, creative men.
Read more: http://theconversation.com/marianne-and-leonard-a-new-film-tells-us-little-about-the-woman-fixed-in-the-role-of-musicians-muse-128112?source=Snapzu

The Kremlin’s Creative Director

How the television producer Konstantin Ernst went from discerning auteur to Putin’s unofficial minister of propaganda.
Read more: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/the-kremlins-creative-director?source=Snapzu

‘Benson,’ ‘Star Trek’ actor René Auberjonois has died at 79

René Auberjonois, a prolific actor best known for the TV shows “Benson” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” has died. He was 79.
Read more: https://www.pix11.com/news/national-news/benson-star-trek-actor-rene-auberjonois-has-died-at-79?source=Snapzu

The 25 best TV shows of 2019

In our look back at the best television of 2019, we’ll spare you the requisite references to “peak TV” and the 500-plus scripted series that aired or streamed this year, because nothing demonstrates that magnitude quite like lining up our mid-year findings with our year-end list. Some early contenders, including a fantastically awkward Hulu series and a stalwart sitcom, weren’t able to cross the finish line, while others, like an empathetic drama about egotistical lovers, saw a surge late in the year.
Read more: https://tv.avclub.com/the-25-best-tv-shows-of-2019-1840151017?source=Snapzu

The Morning Show earns Apple its first Golden Globe nominations

Just one day after Billy Crudup earned a Critics’ Choice nomination for his role in The Morning Show, Apple TV Plus’ flagship show is being honored with more nominations. The Morning Show received a nomination for Best Drama from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Monday morning. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon both earned top acting nominations for Best Actress for their work in the show. Crudup did not receive a nomination.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21002531/apple-tv-plus-golden-globes-best-drama-aniston-witherspoon-carell?source=Snapzu

Juice Wrld Dead: Rapper Dies At 21 After Suffering A Seizure

Juice Wrld is dead after suffering a seizure at Chicago’s Midway airport, according to TMZ. The rapper, who is best known for his songs “Lucid Dreams” and “Wasted,” just ...
Read more: https://www.inquisitr.com/5782635/juice-wrld-dead/?source=Snapzu

The internet is roasting YouTube's 'Rewind 2019' video, with people calling it lazy and low-budget

YouTube's annual Rewind video was released Thursday, and has already accrued significantly more dislikes than likes from upset users.
Read more: https://amp.businessinsider.com/youtube-rewind-2019-video-reactions-2019-12?source=Snapzu

The Aeronauts brings the joy and perils of Victorian ballooning to vivid life

Just in time for the holiday season, Amazon Studios has released The Aeronauts, a soaring historical adventure film about the perils faced by a Victorian scientist and a balloonist attempting to fly higher than anyone before them. Granted, the characters might be a bit thinly drawn when it comes to emotional depth, and the earth-bound first act is solid, if unremarkable, period drama.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/12/the-aeronauts-brings-the-joy-and-perils-of-victorian-ballooning-to-vivid-life/?source=Snapzu

New book claims Albert Camus was murdered by the KGB

Study expands on archive finds revealed in 2011, and suggests that the French state may have abetted the 1960 car crash that killed him
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/05/albert-camus-murdered-by-the-kgb-giovanni-catelli?source=Snapzu

Sacha Baron Cohen slams Google billionaires Sergey Brin and Larry Page for stepping down: 'You're the Silicon Six'

Baron Cohen pointed out that Page and Brin still have voting control of the company, and accused Google of facilitating the spread of white supremacy.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/sacha-baron-cohen-slams-google-cofounders-sergey-brin-larry-page-2019-12?source=Snapzu

Subreddit That Hates on 'Game of Thrones' Is the Most Popular TV Subreddit of 2019

Send a raven: Two “Game of Thrones”-centric subreddits landed at the top of Reddit’s TV communities this year and the one that took the Iron Throne (or at least what’s left of it) is actually the board known for refusing to bend the knee to the now-ended HBO series.
Read more: https://www.thewrap.com/game-of-thrones-reddit-best-of-2019-freefolk-top-tv-shows/?source=Snapzu